Friday, November 25, 2016 1st Reading: Rv 20: 1-4. 11 – 21: 2 Gospel: Lk 21:29-33
Jesus said to his disciples, “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. As soon as their buds sprout, you know that summer is already near. In the same way, as soon as you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. Truly, I tell you, this generation will not pass away, until all this has happened: heav en and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”
D@iGITAL-EXPERIENCE
(Daily Gospel
in the Assimilated
Life Experience)
Jesus told his listeners to “Look at the fig tree and all the trees”. All, and not just a fig tree, can be indicators of cosmic happenings preceding the coming of God’s kingdom. Trees today are no longer reliable indicators of such. Changes in them are already erratic. They have suffered too much from human maltreatment.
We can still make up for the damage by planting more trees. There’s a Spanish saying attributed to Cuban poet Jose Marti that recommends planting trees, siring a child and writing a book to those who would like to live a complete life (un arbol, un hijo, un libro). I have done the first many times, attempted to do the third but gave up the second when I entered the seminary at the age of 15.
Many friends have asked me to compile my gospel columns and come up with a book. I’d plant enough trees first to make up for the trees to be cut to produce the book. According to a research a ton of paper is equivalent to 17 trees. Would that there be a system of certifying authors as green by requiring them to plant trees before publishing a book!
More trees can be planted if parents can also go green. Parishes, for example, can require parents to plant trees before their infant is baptized. Parents can also mark every birthday of their child with a tree planting activity. Honeymooners can also do it. I commend the owners of a resort in Badian, Cebu for gifting honeymooners with a seedling and accommodating their seedling in the resort garden. Their names are etched on small slabs marking the seedling they plant so that in their next visit they can identify which among the trees in the resort garden they had planted at their honeymoon.
The word ‘tree’ appears 50 times in its singular form while 11 times in its plural form in the New Testament. When Jesus invited people to observe changes in trees in order to anticipate the end of times and the coming of God’s kingdom, he was using trees as medium to drive home an important message. With the sad state of our trees today, the medium has become the message. But we can still do something. Let’s plant more trees! -(Atty.) Rev. Fr. Dan Domingo P. delos Angeles, Jr., DM., MAPM., MMExM., REB., Email: dan.delosangeles@gmail.com.
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